Also joining the race Wednesday was Assemblyman Guillermo Linares, who, like Espaillat, also represents the northern Manhattan neighborhoods of Washington Heights and Inwood. Both lawmakers are trying to become first Dominican-American in Congress.

"I fully intend to be a candidate," Linares told the Daily News.

Linares said his experience, which includes two years in the Assembly and a decade on the City Council, makes him a strong candidate.

Espaillat and Linares join an already packed field of Democratic candidates that includes fellow State Sen. Bill Perkins, Assemblyman Keith Wright and former Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV.

Espaillat, 61, said education and housing will be the focal points of his campaign.